Boxer Ramen

Editor’s Pick

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$$
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Japanese

Think ramen shop meets Lucky Peach magazine. Wu-Tang Clan bumps from the sound system. Fir tables are fixed with low, Playskool-ish stools. The highlight is the graffiti-like wall mural of three Japanese girls, simultaneously cute and devilish, each hovering over a chicken, pig, or tuna leaping from a ramen bowl—a clever nod to Japan’s Neo Pop art movement. This is Boxer Ramen, where Micah Camden toys with tradition and playfulness in hand-painted bowls. One dish blends two schools of ramen thought, the pork-milky tonkotsu and the soy-sauce-forward shoyu ramen, but still cries out for dimensionality, egg yolk creaminess, and oink factor. And Boxer’s “Really Spicy Miso Ramen” already has addictive potential. The broth teems with the warm rush of Calabrian chiles, parmesan cheese, and butter.